Students as Learners Flashcards
Accomodation
Responding to a new event or object by changing an existing scheme or creating a new scheme
Assimilation
Responding to a new event or object that is consistent with an existing scheme
Classical Conditioning
A process of behavior modification by which a person comes to respond in the desired manner to what was once a neutral stimulus. The neutral stimulus has been repeatedly presented along with an unconditioned stimulus that eventually elicits the desired response
Conservation
Knowing that a number or amount stays the same even when rearranged or presented in a different shape
Constructivism
A philosophy of learning based on the premise that people construct their own understanding of the world they live in through reflection on experiences
Convergent Thinking
A process of gathering several pieces of information together to solve a problem
Creativity
New and original behavior that creates a culturally appropriate product
Discovery Learning
Teaching methods that enable students to discover information by themselves or in groups
Disequilibrium
One’s inability to explain new events based on existing schemes, which is usually accompanied by discomfort
Disposition
A person’s natural tendency to approach learning or problem solving in certain ways
Distributed Cognition
A process in which two or more learners share their thinking as they work together to solve a problem
Divergent Thinking
The process of mentally taking a single idea and expanding it in several directions
Equilibration
Movement from equilibrium to disequilibrium and then back to equilibrium again
Equilibrium
One’s ability to explain new events based on existing schemes
Long-Term Memory
The part of memory that holds skills and knowledge for a long time
Metacognition
A person’s ability to think about his or her own thinking
Operant Conditioning
A form of psychological learning in which the learner modifies his or her own behavior based on the association of the behavior with a stimulus
Problem Solving
To use existing knowledge or skills to solve problems or complex issues
Readiness to Learn
A context within which a student’s more basic needs (sleep, safety, love) are met and the student is cognitively ready for developmentally appropriate problem solving and learning
Response
A specific behavior that a person demonstrates
Scaffolding
Instructional supports provided to a student by an adult or a more capable peer in a learning situation. The more capable a student becomes with a certain skill or concept, the less instructional scaffolding the adult or peer needs to provide
Schema
A concept in the mind about events, scenarios, actions, or objects that have been acquired from past experience
Self-Efficacy
A belief that one is capable
Self-Regulation
The process of taking control of one’s own learning or behavior
Stimulus (Stimuli)
A specific object or event that influences (positively or negatively) a person’s learning or behavior
Transfer
The ability to apply a lesson learned in one situation to a new situation
Working Memory
The part of memory that holds and actively processes a limited amount of information for a short amount of time
Zone of Proximal Development
It suggests that students learn best in a social context in which a more-able adult or peer teaches the student something he or she could not learn on his or her own